I was frantic suddenly, thoughts coming too fast, too jumbled to make sense. What had just happened between us, that kiss, God, it had been so good, so right, but then this? I stepped back, out of his reach, suddenly questioning. “Were you trying to distract me from seeing this? Was that why you kissed me?” Was that intimacy fake? How could he?
“No.”
But I wasn’t so sure suddenly. Feeling cold, I wrapped my arms around myself and stepped back.
“Tell me, Zane. Tell me what that symbol is.”
His face creased. He appeared older, tortured. “Savage Blood. It’s the pack I belonged to. The one I was supposed to initiate Bryan into.”
Chapter Eight
Zane
I left Aria sitting on the couch and went out to meet Fly, more confused than I had been since leaving the compound. Why had I kissed her? I’d wanted to distract her from seeing my back, seeing that tattoo, since she’d recognize it was the same one Bryan had. I remembered when he’d agreed to get it done, the feeling of winning, of doing my father proud overwhelming. If only I’d known what would happen in the weeks to come.
Kissing Aria wasn’t to distract her, not really, not if I were honest with myself. Hell, there were a hundred ways to do that if that was my purpose. Some part of me wanted to come clean. To confess. To tell her everything and see where I stood. But, even more than that, the urge to kiss her when she’d run screaming into my arms had been overwhelming. I’d wanted her. I’d wanted to protect her, to make her feel safe, but more than any of those nobler desires, I’d simply wanted to have her. To claim her. Just like I had that night six years ago.
Fuck.
I would not let my father manipulate me again. I’d had time to think about what he’d said as I’d run. I was still Alpha’s son. Even if I turned my back on him, on all of them, part of me would still, would always, belong to them. And by claiming Aria, taking her as my own, I’d be picking up where Derek left off. I could unite the packs, if they didn’t destroy us first.
He’d said he hadn’t ordered the kill on Bryan. He still denied that. Was it possible he was telling the truth? Had he been trying to save the son to make amends for killing the father?
I was getting a fucking headache. And on top of it all was Aria, the one person I should have stayed away from and the one person I couldn’t get out of my fucking head. Not in the six years I’d been gone.
Fly shook his head at me when I walked behind the bar.
“What the fuck are you doing, man?”
I twisted the lid off a bottle of beer. “Not a clue.”
“Well, you’d better figure it the fuck out and fast. That girl is going to get you everything you do not need. Everything you’ve been trying to steer clear of.”
I drank half the bottle. “What happened that was so urgent?”
“You mean that I had to interrupt your love fest?”
“Fuck you, Fly.”
He shook his head. “Wolves. They were after her. Not sure if it was to scare her or what, but when I realized she wasn’t in your office, I went out there — luckily in time. Scared them off.”
“Fuck. Any chance they were rogue?” If they’d acted outside of a pack, it would be easier to deal with.
Fly shook his head. “I think you’d better assume they weren’t. How was your meeting with dear old dad?”
I took another sip of beer. “He’s grooming Ace to take over.”
“He’s his enforcer and next in line by blood, even if he is a prick. Why are you surprised by that? And, more importantly, why do you give a shit?”
“I don’t.” It was a lie, but I didn’t want to give a shit. Didn’t that count for anything?
Fly’s eyebrows went up.
“He still denies having anything to do with the murders. And he claims the rose wasn’t from them,” I said.
“You believe him?”
“He knew where she was for two years. He could have done it then. It would have been easier to off her then, so, yes, I do.”
“All right then, let me ask you this. You sure Cain’s the man in charge over there?”
That made me pause. “What do you mean?”
“Ever consider that Ace may be running the show?”
“No. No fucking way. Not from what I saw between them today. He wants to, but no way.”
“Maybe behind Cain’s back?”
“How? Who would be stupid enough to go against the Alpha? Sentence is death. Every time.”
Fly picked up a towel to wipe the bar as a customer came up to order. “I know Ace, maybe better than you,” he said, glancing back at me. “He’s bad news, Z.” He turned his attention to the customer.
“Who’s Ace?” Aria stood on the other side of the bar. Her eyes were red, but I didn’t need to see them to know she’d been crying. It was in her voice, her demeanor. She doubted, she questioned, she wanted to trust. I saw it. I understood it. Yet, I had to keep her in the dark, and she stood a little smaller because of it.
“No one.”
She shook her head, tears building up again. “Stop this. Stop the fucking lies and non-answers. I have a right to know. Is he Obsidian? Is he the one who killed Bryan and my mother?”
Fly’s gaze burned into my back as the bar quieted just a little. Walking toward her, I took her by the arm and walked her into my office, grabbed her jacket and a helmet, and took her out to my bike. Straddling it, I handed her the helmet.
“Get on.”
“No. Not until you tell me what the fuck is going on. I don’t get you, Zane. I don’t understand you, and you may not believe there’s value in understanding, but I fucking do. You’re not the man I remember. What happened to him? He was good. He gave a shit. Even if he did fuck up, he gave a shit. You? You’re different, and not in a good way.”
“Well, I’m the only one who has any answers, aren’t I? And, somehow, I seem to have become responsible for you.”
“Screw you! You’re not responsible for me. I came back thinking I’d have someone to help me, an ally. Someone who would want Obsidian dead as badly as I do. But, no, turns out you’re just a selfish asshole who thinks he can play with me one minute while pretending to want to keep me safe the next. Fuck. You. Coming here was a mistake. Wasting four years looking for you was a mistake. And that night six years ago? My biggest mistake yet. But don’t worry, you won’t have to face your shit again. You can tuck tail, run and hide like the fucking coward you are. I’m done. You won’t ever have to see me again.”
Getting off the bike, I grabbed her before she could get far. Where the fuck she thought she’d go, I had no idea, but I, too, was done.
“Get your ass on the bike, Aria. I mean it.”
She struggled, but it was useless.
“Why? Tell me why I should do anything you say?”
I closed my hand around her throat and shoved her up against the wall, crushing my mouth over hers so hard, it fucking hurt. We both gasped for breath when I ended the kiss.
“Because all I’ve been doing for the last six years is trying to keep this shit away from me. Trying to keep everything that happened out of my fucking head. Trying to keep you out of my head. But turns out I can’t, so just get on the goddamned bike and shut the fuck up because you’re right. I was a fucking coward. And if you think I haven’t regretted leaving you alone to deal with that shit, well, you’re wrong. I regret it every single day of my life.”
She stared up at me, and I realized what I’d said. But she stopped fighting, and I took the helmet from her hand and put it on her head. She straddled the bike behind me, and I took off faster than I should have, faster than was safe, but I liked her arms wrapped around my waist. Liked her body pressed up against mine as she clung to me. And I didn’t want to lose this thing between us. I was running headfirst into trouble, but just like that last time I’d had her in my bed, I was powerless to resist.
We didn’t speak when we got to the house. We’d need to do that, but I needed to do one
other thing first. Taking her by her wrist, I dragged her up the stairs and into my bedroom.
“Zane?” she asked, stepping back when I released her and closed the door.
My answer came in the form of my stalking toward her and her retreating from me until she was out of space. I didn’t care if I scared her though. I didn’t give a shit about that, and, quite frankly, I liked her a little scared.
“In my office, I wasn’t trying to distract you.” I kissed her roughly, pushing her jacket off her arms before dragging her shirt over her head. “In fact, from the first minute I saw you, all I’ve wanted to do is this.” My hands went to the button of her jeans while hers pressed against my chest. “Boots, Aria.” She moaned against my mouth while working them off, and once they were gone, I lifted her up and carried her to the bed, peeling her jeans away as soon as I released her so she lay in bra and panties. “The other night,” I said, straddling her thighs, feeling the heat coming off her as I tore my T-shirt off, my cock aching to be released. I reached behind her and unhooked her bra, pulling it free, taking in her small, round breasts, the dark, pebbled nipples begging to be sucked. I took one into my mouth and the other between two fingers. I wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t who I was. Instead, I sucked hard, drawing her nipple out between my teeth, sliding my other hand down over her belly and into her panties to find her shaved pussy. Her hands wrapped around my head as she lifted herself up a little. I figured she was on the edge of pain when I released her and took the other nipple into my mouth. “The other night when I undressed you,” I continued, although I wasn’t sure she was following as she tried to draw me down onto her again, lifting her hips into my hand. “I wanted you then, too. I wanted to strip you fucking naked and taste every inch of you. I wanted to stand over you and take my cock into my hand until I came all over you. I wanted to own you.”
“Zane, please.”
I stood, sliding my hand out of her panties, smelling her scent on my fingers before pulling off my boots, jeans, and briefs so I stood naked before her. Her eyes went wide as they focused on my cock. I was a lot of man for most women.
“You like what you see, Aria?” Reaching down, I tore her panties from her. “Open your legs. I want to see your pussy before I bury my face in it.”
“Zane, I —” She reached for me, but I flipped her over onto her side and slapped her ass hard three times.
“I said open your fucking legs and show me that pussy.” I’d gotten her attention but still helped her this time, climbing between her knees and pushing them wide to gaze at that shaved little cunt, all pink and moist, the lips gaping, dripping for me. I smiled at her. “Are you wet for me? Is that cunt wet for me? For my tongue?”
She could only nod, licking her lips.
“Say it. Tell me what you want,” I said, kneeling on the floor and tugging her to the edge of the bed. “I want to hear you beg for it, Aria, and I want to hear it dirty.”
“Zane, please, I don’t think…”
“Say it. Tell me to lick your cunt. Say it, Aria.” I dug my fingers into her thighs, holding her spread, giving her pussy one long lick that made her shudder as she met my gaze.
“Lick me, Zane. Please. Lick me.”
That was all I needed. It was like saying bon appetit before digging into the meal, and I did just that, tasting her as she trembled, moaning, trying to press herself into my face, my mouth. She tasted like she had back then. Sweet. So fucking sweet. And so wet for me. I pulled her pussy lips apart to expose the hard nub of her clit and blew on it, making her gasp. Sliding two fingers inside her, I sucked her clit, the sounds she made fucking music to my ears, her cunt tight around my fingers, her heat irresistible.
But when I reached a barrier, I stopped, surprised, and pulled back, sitting on my heels.
“Don’t stop,” she began, reaching for me. “Please, Zane.”
Fuck. She was twenty-two. I’d expected she would have been with someone by now.
“Are you a virgin, Aria?”
She sat up. “Does it matter?”
“Yes, it fucking matters.” Another reminder of her innocence. Another flag waving in my fucking face telling me what an asshole I was to do this. To want this. To take it when she had not a fucking clue what that would mean for her because, once we did this, once I claimed her, she’d be bound to me. She’d have my babies. She’d birth Alphas, and she’d be bound to the pack as surely as I was, no matter how I fooled myself into believing I wasn’t. And the pack she’d be bound to? They would hate her for being a Hale.
She shook her head. “There wasn’t anyone for me. I never felt — I never wanted anyone.”
She’d never been with a man. No one but me. And here she was, in my bed, where I’d stripped her, where I’d planned on fucking her until she screamed my name. Here she was, a fucking virgin.
I stood and stepped away, running a hand through my hair. What the fuck was I doing? Again? She was pure innocence, and I was dragging her into a life she wouldn’t choose if she knew, not if she really knew.
“I’m sorry,” I said, walking toward the door.
“Stop!” She ran to me, blocking my exit, wrapping her arms around me, kissing me. “I want this. I want you. I’ve never wanted anyone else, Zane. Never. You’re it. Why is this so hard for you?”
“You deserve better, Aria. You deserve —”
“Stop. Just fucking stop!” She shoved at my chest, but if she was trying to push me, it wasn’t working. “Stop with all this guilt. This — I don’t know what! You’re all I have, Zane. You’re it. I’ve been on my own since I was fucking sixteen. Don’t you leave me, too.” Tears flooded her eyes until they ran down her cheeks.
Desperation fueled her plea, her words ambushing me, making it impossible to turn away. Even if I wanted to, which I didn’t, I couldn’t. I was rooted to the spot, her gaze holding me prisoner, owning me in the way I wanted to own her.
“You’re so wrapped up in your guilt, so wrapped up in yourself, but this isn’t only about you. It never was,” she finally said, her tone a little defeated. Like it had been at the bar after she’d seen my tattoo.
“You don’t know what I’ve done, Aria.”
She searched my face, my eyes, sadness creeping into hers. “We’re both guilty of not being there that night.”
The lump in my throat nearly choked me. “You have...” no idea.
“I need you,” she whispered, taking my face into her hands. “It’s all I know. I don’t care what you’ve done. I need you now.”
She walked us backward toward the bed, and when she kissed me, I couldn’t not kiss her back. Lifting her again, I laid her down and climbed on top of her, separating her legs with my knees as I settled on my forearms above her shoulders. Our faces were inches apart. Her hand rested on my cheek while mine cupped the top of her head, my cock ready at her entrance.
I wanted her. I wanted her more than anything else in the world. But I needed to go slowly. She was inexperienced and tight, a virgin. And I was not a small man.
“You’re sure?”
She nodded.
“Stay with me. I want to watch you. I want to see your eyes when I take you.”
She nodded again as I slid my cock into her tight, wet entrance, kissing her softly as I did. Today, her first time, I needed to be gentle. I wanted to make love to her. Maybe it was some part of me thinking that perhaps I’d find absolution in her. Whatever it was, all I knew was that right now, I wanted to settle deep inside her warmth and stare into her eyes for as long as I could. I wanted to escape from everything outside just for a little while. Just until she found out the truth.
“Okay?” I asked as I reached the barrier.
She nodded, but, as I nudged, she tensed. Gripping her harder, I kissed her cheek, pulling out before thrusting in, causing her to cry out, squeezing her eyes shut in pain as I claimed her, her warm virgin blood staining my cock as I pulled back out and did it again, watching her all along, some sick part of me liking the hurt I saw,
liking the scent of blood, knowing that within a few more thrusts, that hurt would turn into something else.
“You feel good.” I thrust harder, ready to bury myself inside her with the next one.
She made a sound, but I saw fear in her eyes when she blinked them open.
“It will pass, and I’ll make you come. I promise.” Pulling all the way out this time, I pushed in to the hilt, feeling her fingernails dig into my back as I settled there. She would adjust. Slowly, her cunt would stretch around my cock.
I reached one hand down and found her clit and, when I did, she moaned softly as I began a slow rhythm.
“You feel so good, Aria. So fucking tight.” This was right. This was where I belonged, buried deep inside her.
“I’m going to come,” she barely got out as I moved faster.
“Come, baby. Come on my cock.”
She did as I watched her, her pussy pulsing around my cock as she came, taking her pleasure while I waited, seeing how her mouth opened, listening to the soft, soft sounds she made until, finally, she opened her eyes again, smiling. I took my hand from her clit and thrust three more times before I pulled out, holding myself over her, decorating her belly and chest with my cum as her soft, sated gaze settled on me.
Chapter Nine
Aria
“I owe you some answers.”
Zane finished cleaning me and pulled on his jeans then handed me his T-shirt, which I slipped over my head. His expression had changed completely, the mood suddenly heavy. But I supposed it was bound to be. I hadn’t had much time to think about it, but if he’d been sent to find us, to recruit Bryan, to initiate him into the…my thoughts wandered to the afternoon in the parking lot, those — wolves — no, I wasn’t thinking about that. There had to be an explanation, a reasonable one. But if he had done those things, then he’d never been fully honest with my mom, with any of us.
He sat down on the edge of the bed, our smell still on the sheets, and patted the space next to him. Once I sat, he picked up my hand, turning it over to study my palm, rubbing circles onto it before letting it go.
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